DirecTV Shares Rise After WSJ Reports Possible AT&T Bid

A DirecTV employee, performs a satellite installation at a customer's home in Bixby. Photographer: Paul Taggart/Bloomberg

May 1 (Bloomberg) -- DirecTV rose to its highest price on
record today after reports that AT&T Inc. is considering a bid
for the satellite-television company.

AT&T, the biggest U.S. phone company, approached DirecTV
about a purchase, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people
familiar with the situation who it didn’t name. A London-based
spokesman for AT&T declined to comment when reached by Bloomberg
News. A DirecTV spokesman didn’t immediately return a call
seeking comment before regular business hours.

Television companies in the U.S. are consolidating, and
AT&T wouldn’t be the only suitor for DirecTV this year. Dish
Network Corp. chairman Charlie Ergen called DirecTV Chief
Executive Officer Mike White to discuss a merger of the two
satellite businesses, people with knowledge of the matter said
in March. The talks follow Comcast Corp.’s agreement this year
to buy Time Warner Cable Inc. for $45 billion.

DirecTV rose 4.1 percent to $80.76 at the close in New
York, giving it a market value of $41.2 billion. The stock had
gained 37 percent in the 12 months through yesterday.

Dallas-based AT&T fell less than 1 percent to $35.58. The
company has a market value of about $185 billion.

Dish, which has a market value of $27.6 billion, rose 5.9
percent to $60.21.